01) A version of the "Little House" stories that cover some of the events that take place in the last three books of the series and the book "The First Four Years." Laura is living on the prairie nere De Smet, South Dakota and eventually meets the man that she will marry, Almanzo Wilder. Life, however, is not easy on the prairie and after a crop lost to hail, the loss of their baby son, the burning down of their house, and a terrible bout of diptheria, the Wilders must make some hard choices about how to move on from the tragedies. _IMDb (Anonymous)

02) More true to Wilder's famed Little House books than the old TV series, this time out we first meet Laura as an 1880s teenager, living on the South Dakota prairie with her Pa, Ma, and three sisters. She has to endure the hard prairie life, which includes teaching at a school she does not enjoy, blizzards, fires, failing crops, and death. However, she survives on the strong love within her family and the romance that blooms when she meets Almanzo Wilder. --IMDb Tommy Peter

The Truth about the True Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder ( Jan 28, 2000 by laryan): Saying this movie is more true than the TV series is like ,saying a tiger is a better pet than a lion. Neither of them make good pets, regardless. I enjoyed the fact that some of the details were not overlooked. Pa (well played by Richard Thomas) had a beard and played the violin. However, I was disappointed in the script overall.One of my favorite parts of the Little House series is the confrontation between Laura and her future sister-in-law, Eliza Jane Wilder. I also disliked the way Laura was forced into teaching by her father. This is how Laura told the story in any of her books. Another irritating point, Almanzo Wilder had a matched pair of Morgans. Skip and Barnum came later. Laura did not nearly break her engagement because she wanted to travel. Like many movies these days, The Powers That Be were determined to re-write history and place feminists in roles. I recall nothing in the book that has Caroline Ingalls going off on Charles about wanting to move further west. I recall nothing about Laura Ingalls wanting to consumate her marriage in an abandoned homesite out in the open. This film couldn't even keep Laura in a sun bonnet, placing her instead in a beat up man's hat that looked like something Indiana Jones threw out.I wouldn't have this big of a problem with the movie if it did not claim to be the "true" story. I had no problem with the flights of fancy the TV show took because it only claimed to be based on the life and works of Laura Ingalls. But if you claim it is the "true" story, then make it the true story. Or don't do it.

Why didn't they just make it right? (Apr 24, 2005 by lightninboy): I was spoon-fed generous portions of Laura Ingalls Wilder when I was a child. It was good to see "The Long Winter" finally make it onto film. But the romantic stuff shown after Laura and Almanzo got married? Gee, I don't remember that from "These Happy Golden Years" or "The First Four Years"! I thought the hailstorm was realistic. When the house burned down, it was a hot summer day as I recall. This movie says the fire was caused by a hay tie in the winter time. I see on IMDb that other people found other stuff wrong. I don't really have a problem with the casting, but I never thought about it. I agree that the TV series took great liberties with Laura Ingalls Wilder's material. The way I see it, the discrepancies could have been so easily avoided that the makers were stupid not to just make this movie right.

Not The "True Story" At All (Dec 23, 2014 by faith19741984):I bought this movie thinking it would be the true story of Laura Ingalls Wilder and her life in a movie form. It definitely was not. I love the original Michael Landon TV series even though it is only loosely based on the books because o's name in it and dreamily repeats his name...well, that's just cheesy. Also it is not factual. All I could keep thinking when I saw Pa was "John Boy Walton" which was not the actor's fault and I thought he did an okay job. He looked the part. The way the producers/writers portrayed Ma and Pa's relationship was odd and a little unnerving. It might have been true, but it was never mentioned straightforwardly in Laura's books and this is supposed to be the "true" story. Also, there was one scene that bothered me more than anything else. It was the scene where Laura and Almanzo had just gotten married and they drove out to a field and you could assume what they were trying to infer was going to happen when the scene cut out. Okay, of course that's true, they were married of course. But I just did not think it was classy to be putting it in the "True Story of LIW" when small children watch this and it never said anything about it in the books. I don't usually mind those sorts of scenes in other movies, but this sort of felt weird and unnecessary. 2/10 stars

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